July 4 I watched this full moon rise in the Oxford, England, in the backyard of the home of Gill-Farrer Halls and Robert Beer. Robert, the author of several books on Tibetiana, is the painter of the cover of Aghora I and illustrator of Aghora II; Gill is a published author and filmmaker. This night's eclipse did not show itself, so I contented myself instead with watching a video that Gill has just collaborated on, of a Kalachakra initiation that the Dalai Lama recently held in Northern Ireland, hoping to promote thereby the peace process there. Most of the previous fortnight I had spent in Italy, including a couple of nights in Rome, where I made a pilgrimage to the Roman Forum, the Palatine Hill, and the best swimming pool in town. The bulk of my Italian time, though, was spent in the hills outside Assisi as the guest of the eminently hospitable Ram & Parvati Alexander. Lunch is one of the most important moments in the day, both in Ayurvedic thought and in Italian practice, and I enjoyed fine lunches each day of that week, both those cooked by Parvati and those we enjoyed in surrounding towns, ike Spello, Trevi and Assisi itself (don't miss the Trattoria Palotta when you are next there). Italy is, after all, the home of the Slow Food Movement, the banner under which epicureans of all stripes are marshalling their forces to combat the insidious spread of "fast food." Like the food, the weather in Umbria was delightful, the hills beautiful, and the ambiance, intoxicating. St. Francis meanwhile continues to offer blessings to all and sundry from his vantage point perched in his grave in the lowest level of the giant basilica built in his honor. While alive he had resolutely refused any such honor, but after his death one of his disciples went ahead (as disciples often do) and had it constructed. The 1998 earthquake of a few year's back did severe damage which is all repaired now, and the splendid frescos of Giotto and Cimabue can again be viewed scaffold-free. Thank you St. Francis!